Report 1009
Report #1009 Skillset: Druidry Skill: Allergies Org: Hartstone Status: Completed May 2013 Furies' Decision: We will reduce the increased writhe time for allergies to 50%. Problem: The Allergies mechanic was introduced in an effort to heighten the druid's ailing ability to fight in their demesne, and to reduce the overdependence on sap in combat. On one front they have succeeded, in a 1v1 combat situation, druids have been buffed by allergies - too much, however: we are still entirely dependent on the sap affliction, which has severe limitations in group combat. In this report, I attempt to create a cure method for allergies without effecting the status quo, to facilitate larger future changes that could include the removal of dependance on sap (or indeed the removal of the current sap effect altogether). 0 R: 0 Solution #1: Make allergies function like burns, in that the levels of allergies are used "backstage" to determine what the affliction is. Allow liniment to cure allergies in a manner similar to burns. Details and math in the comments. Balancing this will require changes to the backstage number of levels given by each effect and the number cured by liniment. 0 R: 0 Solution #2: In addition to Solution 1, remove the power cost on seedcloud. Add a ~2p enemy list, room-wide syntax. 0 R: 0 Solution #3: In addition to above solutions, reduce the amount allergies increases writhe times to 50% (down from a 100% increase). In replacement, they will double the time it takes to successfully focus body. Player Comments: ---on 5/15 @ 08:10 writes: I suggest implementing solution 1 by doing the following: Double the number of total allergy levels. Having between 1 and 6 allergy levels (inclusive) results in 'mild allergies' with 1/5th the total current effects of allergy levels. For every bracket of 6 allergy levels up, increase the total effects by 1/5th. At 25+ allergy levels, the victim will have the full 100% of current allergy effects, with more levels only serving only as a buffer against cure, same as burns. Allow liniment to cure 1 level of allergies each application. Change pollen to deal at least 6 allergy levels, with a 50% chance for an extra 2 in the trees. Change swarm to deal at least 3 allergy levels, with a 50% chance for an extra 1 in the trees. This raises the passive generation of allergy levels only slightly above the passive generation of burn levels for a pyromancer (and they have ways to hinder salves) when the extra chances fire. Increase active seedcloud to give 3/5/6 (3 with chance for +2, additional chance for +1) More levels are suggested, these are absolute minimum. ---on 5/15 @ 08:10 writes: Remember, the numbers right now may seem a little high, but druids don't really have good ways of pressuring salves enough to hinder for this sort of cure, unlike Pyromancers. Also keep in mind that building allergies will not lead to the instakill burns does, especially in group situations. The intent with this report is to create a mechanic that builds allergies at about the same rate they already build up. Future reports to increase the ability of druids to hinder cures will be paired with a reduction to these numbers. ---on 5/16 @ 01:00 writes: Sure ---on 5/16 @ 01:15 writes: I am somewhat okay with this if solution 3 is implemented and the writhe penalty is reduced (and the focus body penalty is not too intense). I dislike the fact that pyromancer demesnes passively tie up salve balance and this change will cause the same thing to happen in druid mesnes. While druids may not have much to pressure salves others in your group can so in a group fight this is probably a buff to allergy build, which is why I'd like the nerf to writhe time to accompany it. ---on 5/16 @ 04:56 writes: If that's a big concern, you can just.. not cure the first few levels - a la deathmark. You'd just be in the same boat you're in right now, nothing about the skill would have intensified, it would still be the same amount of delay and so on. ---on 5/20 @ 15:45 writes: I don't like the idea of doubling the focus body time, druid melds passively give paralysis once every 10 seconds, which would add a 3 second delay to curing sap, this would make it too much, in my opinion. I agree the writhe extension needs to be removed, and I don't think it needs to be swapped out with anything. It was overkill to begin with. I support solutions 1 and 2, and 3 without the focus body extension. ---on 5/23 @ 06:18 writes: The writhe bonus is currently the only thing of real substance allergies add to a druid's abilities pre-sap. Nerfing them does need to come with some other bonus to combat that kicks in before sapping happens. In groups, where most combat occurs, point cleanse is still an overwhelmingly good option for relegating sap to an expensive ability to throw an opponent off balance. Regardless of both things, this report should do nothing to increase the speed at which allergies accrues in group combat (in fact, it should drop the rate at which it can theoretically be built on multiple people), which is generally too slow to be relevant in real combat. Is the objection to 1v1 druid fighters becoming too powerful, or that solution 3 is a buff to 1v1 druid sap fighting? ---on 5/23 @ 06:53 writes: Decreasing the paralysis buff to +50% (at CAP allergies, which is a long term goal in combat), might be agreeable as well. ---on 5/23 @ 14:33 writes: You also forget that point cleanse also requires you to have an ally in the room with you, that realizes you are sapped to save you. Isolating people in groups to sap isn't really that difficult and sapping in groups doesn't require the same kind of allergy build up (if any at all) as it does 1v1. That being said, doesn't allergies also lower poison resist as it builds up? That's pretty substantial in my opinion. As I see it, druid 1v1 combat is to max out allergies as fast as possible, then sap and finish them off, thus allergies doesn't really need to add anything pre-sap. Not having the writhe bonus doesn't mean you all the sudden can't entangle them anymore. I disagree there needs to be a tradeoff for the writhe bonus, switching out a pseudo-perma entangle situation to a pseudeo-perma paralyzed situation doesn't exactly make a whole lot of sense. Sap is already incredibly difficult to cure out of if done right 1v1, it could use a bit of reduction, in my opinion. If anything, remove the writhe bonus, see how allergies plays out, then if it turns out I'm wrong and it becomes to easy, we can add something back in then. Allergies is incredibly strong, overly so in my opinion, it could use toning down in general, not just trading off effects.